Agenda item

YOS IMPACT Team Update

G White
provided the forum with an update on the work of the YOS IMPACT Team in the Wigston area since February
2015.

The
IMPACT Team work with young people at risk of committing, or are
committing, ASB with referrals often
made to them via the JAG meeting. Since February the team have been
working in Wigston around the McDonalds/Junction Road area where
there are reports of youth related ASB
regularly being made on a Friday and Saturday night.

To work
toward reducing the level of reported ASB a working group was set up which includes
representation from the IMPACT Team, OWBC, the Community Action
Partnership, Voluntary Action Leicestershire, Stars, the Police and
local residents and businesses (El Cafe).

One of
the first tasks to come out of the working group was the
implementation of a consultation with the young people frequenting
the McDonalds/Junction Road area. This consultation provided a
snapshot of the youth provision desired by a small group of
disengaged young people. The majority of those consulted (90%)
stated they would use a ‘youth cafe’ if one were set up
in the area. 40% stated they were interested in participating in
music workshops, another 40% stated they would like to see
provision that includes cooking and sporting activities and 30%
would like to see an arts & crafts project
developed.

These
responses helped shape the diversionary activities that were then
delivered over 12 weeks using El Cafe as a base. Jane Morris from
the Boulter Crescent Community Flat put forward some funding
towards this 12 week project to allow it to go ahead. Additional
funding for furthering the work has also been proposed by McDonalds
however this is yet to occur.

The
IMPACT Team has also delivered ‘Building Positive
Relationship’ training to McDonald’s staff. The
training includes basic working with young people advice and
‘de-escalation’ techniques and was well
received.

Between
April and May the IMPACT Team also ran a 6 week sports project on
Willow Park, Wigston which culminated in a football match versus
representatives of the local policing unit. This project ran on a
Wednesday evening and regularly attracted 50+ young
people.

Between
1 December 2014 and 20 February 2015 there were 10 reported
incidents of youth related ASB around
the McDonalds/Junction Road area. This figure dropped to 9
incidents between March and May and dropped again to 5 incidents
between June and August. Other diversionary activities, such as
additional football and basketball session organised by Kane
Radford, OWBC’s Physical Activities Development Officer, and
seasonal trends (cold winter nights dispersing young people) will
also have contributed to these reductions.

The
IMPACT Team will now be moving out of the Wigston area in the near
future although the working group will continue to meet, undertake
a needs analysis and develop additional youth provision in the
area. As part of this the working group will be looking at
increasing its engagement with local schools, developing joint
funding opportunities and increasing the use of existing facilities
in the area.

G White
went on to talk about how the Youth Offending Service is in the
middle of a restructuring exercise and how this is likely to effect
the IMPACT Team. The restructuring exercise is the result of the
YOS budget being reduced by
£60,000.00; this will result in reductions to both staffing
levels and hours across the County although the consultation exercise relating to the restructure is
still ongoing.

G White
stated he is happy with the outcomes from the work undertaken in
the area and that is could be viewed as a “mini success
story”.

Members
stated that the IMPACT Team could, in view of the coming budget
cuts, be viewed as “victims of their own success”; this
is due to the team having reduced the amount of ASB present meaning the demand for the team is not
as high. Members posited that the increase in ASB the area had recently seen could be attributed
to the lack of projects for young people.

Members
then enquired as to how the IMAPCT Team
could be brought back into the area. G White replied that the
IMPACT Team’s presence in the area was due to a referral
that, due to the success, was now closing and that to have the team
return another referral, with demonstrated need, would need to be
made to them.

Members
expressed a sadness that “County Hall doesn’t want to
invest in young people” and wished “that this Borough
could be responsible for its young people”. “This is a
time to build on success and not cut budgets.”

A selection of additional sources of funding
for the working group to look into weresuggested by members; these included the Wigston Traders, the
Sainsbury Trust, the Rowntree Trust,
the Bourneville Trust and crowdfunding.
It was also suggested that other businesses in the Bell Street area
are approached to support new projects for young people.